Post by Kivawolfspeaker on Jun 11, 2006 18:34:44 GMT -5
Tao Living
Feeding the Clothes
by Derek Lin
One day, the sage received an invitation from a friend. They hadn't seen each other for quite some time, so the friend would like to invite the sage over for dinner.
The sage went to the address indicated and saw that it was a grand mansion. Apparently his friend had done quite well recently.
The doorman stopped the sage. Because the sage dressed plainly, the doorman assumed he must be a solicitor and turned him away.
Amused by this, the sage changed into his ceremonial robe and went to the mansion again. The doorman still failed to recognize him, but assumed he must be someone important. The sage was led inside the mansion, where he found his friend waiting.
When dinner began, the sage ate none of the food but kept stuffing appetizers and dumplings into his pockets. His host found this most puzzling, and said: "Master, you don't need to do that. We can prepare a bag for you to take home later on. Please relax and enjoy the meal."
The sage told him: "When I came here earlier wearing plain clothes, I was blocked at the front door. After I changed into this robe, I was welcomed inside. Obviously you invited my robe instead of me, so it is only reasonable that the robe should enjoy your food!"
One of the most appealing things about the study of the Tao is the sense of humor that permeates it. Although far from frivolous, sages never take themselves too seriously. Thus, something that another person might interpret as a dreadful insult (such as being refused entrance) would be to a sage simply an interesting opportunity to observe human nature at work.
Sages may also use humor to convey the points they wish to make. They have found this to be far more effective and readily accepted than stern lectures. As Chuang Tzu demonstrated with his many tales, laughters that lighten the heart and brighten the day can take us further down the path of cultivation.
The aspect of human nature that the sage observed in the story was superficiality. We have a tendency to judge others based on external appearance. Just as the doorman failed to recognize the sage, we often fail to recognize the real individuals around us in everyday life.
The sage did not rail against this or complain about it. He knew this was how most people operated. If he were to struggle against human nature and try to change others, it would simply be an exercise in futility.
The sage was quite willing to dress appropriately for the given setting. As a general rule, Tao cultivators do not flaunt their unconventional outlook on life, and therefore do not dress to shock, stand out, or attract attention. They have no need to prove how "cool" they are by rebelling against conventions.
Tao cultivators also aren't people who look unkempt and justify it by claiming to follow their inner nature. A real cultivator would recognize this as intellectual sophistry covering up a lack of discipline. Being presentable demonstrates respect to people with whom we interact. It is a courtesy we extend to others.
In the story, the sage pointed out in his unique way how ludicrous it is for us to judge a book by its cover. We all know that external appearance is transient while the inner essence remains constant. And yet, we focus so much on the external, we have begun to treat the transient as if it were real. Not only are we judging a book by its cover, we are ignoring all the pages in the book and regarding the cover as the book.
Consider the celebrity culture of our modern times. Consider how we often idolize actors and models based on external appearance. We are impressed by them primarily because of their physical beauty. This is not so different from the doorman deferring to the sage when he showed up in his ceremonial robe.
Never before in history has external appearance been so highly valued. In ancient China, teachers and scholars were far more highly regarded than performers. Today we have the exact opposite. As a society, we heap praise and financial rewards upon celebrities. This is not so different from the sage stuffing food into the pockets of his robe.
It isn't just celebrities and physical beauty either. Consider all the different ways people judge one another. We look at titles, degrees, possessions, relative wealth and social standing – all external attributes that have little to do with the true self.
Think of these external attributes as clothes, and it becomes clear that we are just like the doorman, dealing with others based on what they happen to be "wearing." If they drive around a clunker, our regard for them goes down a couple of notches; if they have an advanced degree, we revise our estimate of them upward.
The trouble is that the clothes and the individual wearing them are two completely different things. For instance, we may meet a Peace Corps volunteer who does not possess much in the way of material things, and yet has a wealth of intangible treasures in the heart. Or, perhaps we meet a scientist with an impressive title and academic honors – but not a single shred of common sense.
When we look beyond the surface and behold the real person, we begin to see in terms of spirituality. In this inner realm, the external attributes that we used to discriminate have no meaning. This is what Mother Theresa spoke of when she answered the question of how she was able to care for the lepers year after year. She said she saw God in them, wearing many disguises.
If we look through the eyes of the sage or Mother Theresa, we too will see the truth – the truth that we are one. As spiritual beings, we all partake in the divine essence, none higher and none lower. This eternal self is who we really are, and no matter how many different sets of clothes we change into... this is the part of us that will never change.
from www.truetao.org
Feeding the Clothes
by Derek Lin
One day, the sage received an invitation from a friend. They hadn't seen each other for quite some time, so the friend would like to invite the sage over for dinner.
The sage went to the address indicated and saw that it was a grand mansion. Apparently his friend had done quite well recently.
The doorman stopped the sage. Because the sage dressed plainly, the doorman assumed he must be a solicitor and turned him away.
Amused by this, the sage changed into his ceremonial robe and went to the mansion again. The doorman still failed to recognize him, but assumed he must be someone important. The sage was led inside the mansion, where he found his friend waiting.
When dinner began, the sage ate none of the food but kept stuffing appetizers and dumplings into his pockets. His host found this most puzzling, and said: "Master, you don't need to do that. We can prepare a bag for you to take home later on. Please relax and enjoy the meal."
The sage told him: "When I came here earlier wearing plain clothes, I was blocked at the front door. After I changed into this robe, I was welcomed inside. Obviously you invited my robe instead of me, so it is only reasonable that the robe should enjoy your food!"
One of the most appealing things about the study of the Tao is the sense of humor that permeates it. Although far from frivolous, sages never take themselves too seriously. Thus, something that another person might interpret as a dreadful insult (such as being refused entrance) would be to a sage simply an interesting opportunity to observe human nature at work.
Sages may also use humor to convey the points they wish to make. They have found this to be far more effective and readily accepted than stern lectures. As Chuang Tzu demonstrated with his many tales, laughters that lighten the heart and brighten the day can take us further down the path of cultivation.
The aspect of human nature that the sage observed in the story was superficiality. We have a tendency to judge others based on external appearance. Just as the doorman failed to recognize the sage, we often fail to recognize the real individuals around us in everyday life.
The sage did not rail against this or complain about it. He knew this was how most people operated. If he were to struggle against human nature and try to change others, it would simply be an exercise in futility.
The sage was quite willing to dress appropriately for the given setting. As a general rule, Tao cultivators do not flaunt their unconventional outlook on life, and therefore do not dress to shock, stand out, or attract attention. They have no need to prove how "cool" they are by rebelling against conventions.
Tao cultivators also aren't people who look unkempt and justify it by claiming to follow their inner nature. A real cultivator would recognize this as intellectual sophistry covering up a lack of discipline. Being presentable demonstrates respect to people with whom we interact. It is a courtesy we extend to others.
In the story, the sage pointed out in his unique way how ludicrous it is for us to judge a book by its cover. We all know that external appearance is transient while the inner essence remains constant. And yet, we focus so much on the external, we have begun to treat the transient as if it were real. Not only are we judging a book by its cover, we are ignoring all the pages in the book and regarding the cover as the book.
Consider the celebrity culture of our modern times. Consider how we often idolize actors and models based on external appearance. We are impressed by them primarily because of their physical beauty. This is not so different from the doorman deferring to the sage when he showed up in his ceremonial robe.
Never before in history has external appearance been so highly valued. In ancient China, teachers and scholars were far more highly regarded than performers. Today we have the exact opposite. As a society, we heap praise and financial rewards upon celebrities. This is not so different from the sage stuffing food into the pockets of his robe.
It isn't just celebrities and physical beauty either. Consider all the different ways people judge one another. We look at titles, degrees, possessions, relative wealth and social standing – all external attributes that have little to do with the true self.
Think of these external attributes as clothes, and it becomes clear that we are just like the doorman, dealing with others based on what they happen to be "wearing." If they drive around a clunker, our regard for them goes down a couple of notches; if they have an advanced degree, we revise our estimate of them upward.
The trouble is that the clothes and the individual wearing them are two completely different things. For instance, we may meet a Peace Corps volunteer who does not possess much in the way of material things, and yet has a wealth of intangible treasures in the heart. Or, perhaps we meet a scientist with an impressive title and academic honors – but not a single shred of common sense.
When we look beyond the surface and behold the real person, we begin to see in terms of spirituality. In this inner realm, the external attributes that we used to discriminate have no meaning. This is what Mother Theresa spoke of when she answered the question of how she was able to care for the lepers year after year. She said she saw God in them, wearing many disguises.
If we look through the eyes of the sage or Mother Theresa, we too will see the truth – the truth that we are one. As spiritual beings, we all partake in the divine essence, none higher and none lower. This eternal self is who we really are, and no matter how many different sets of clothes we change into... this is the part of us that will never change.
from www.truetao.org